He helped the FBI to expose the price-fixing scheme of his company and served his time. Assuming someone is inspecting his work, what more do you want from the guy?

I'd like to know why he was in prison if he was so benevolent to the FBI and so harmful to the evil-doers in his company. Most criminals only tend to become remorseful after they've been caught. I'd also like to know how he could afford to get a Phd. I'd also like to know how he could have gotten job references from the company that he squealed about. I've got dozens of other unanswered questions.

Well some of your questions could easily be answered - have you read the book/seen the movie/listened to the This American Life show? The TAL goes in pretty good detail about how he ended up in prison - haven't read the book/seen the movie, but based on what I've heard of both, the events are detailed there too..

I'd like to know why he was in prison if he was so benevolent to the FBI and so harmful to the evil-doers in his company.

He didn't come clean right away with the feds, and when he did he put their entire multi year investigation at stake since he would of been the lone witness as to the date/time and people in the recordings. He also starting going a little crazy when his lawyer suggested he take a 2 year plea bargain. Started thinking everyone was out to get him, and he leveled some pretty wild accusations against one of the feds he workedc closely with during the investigation.

I'd like to know why he was in prison if he was so benevolent to the FBI and so harmful to the evil-doers in his company.

Because in addition to helping the FBI, he was also committing crimes.

I'd also like to know how he could afford to get a Phd.

That question doesn't make any sense. I would assume he did it the same way most PhD students pay for it, through a combination of grants, work, maybe savings...I don't know. Why are you even asking this? Are you under the impression he got it while in p

Oh, I forgot about the price fixing altogether! The link to wiki was talking about ethanol subsidies, about how we've wasted billions on ADM and still for every dollar they make on ethanol, the taxpayer has given $10. That's the bigger ripoff that I was talking about.

Also their corn syrup has really damaged our health, but they're far from the only ones complicit in that.

I'll admit I don't know the details of this case or US laws particularly well, but in general investigation into people like him, his arrest, and the court case, as well as the prison sentence cost money. A lot of money. Money that wont be repaid by anyone other than the tax payer. So it's not unreasonable for the tax paying public to somewhat appalled if someone is making an absolute fortune based on his contacts in a similar important position of trust in which he will be making a fortune.

I guess they really have managed to get the prison system to be more about "reforming" inmates, as opposed to simply "incarcerating" them. He goes from being a convicted (for of all things..embezzlement) felon, to Chief "Operating" Officer. Almost makes me want to get busted for assault with a deadly weapon, extortion, and sodomy. Then I could be "reformed" into "CEO"-material!

Glad to see that someone who stole $9 million is able to once again serve as a corporate executive.

Well, he's an executive at a small company that sells selenium as a treatment for cancer, which is a treatment of very dubious efficiacy. ("dubious" in that the actual clinical trials didn't show any improvement.)

There isn't anything wrong with that. The man served his time, and he's a productive member of society again. The comments for this story are, unfortunately, going to be spearheaded by individuals who don't have the talents to serve as an effective executive in the first place. Thus, we get to read a hundred different spins on the "but he committed a crime" theme, all fueled by basic jealousy. Interestingly, this is the same crowd that seems to have no problem celebrating Kevin Mitnick's turnaround and subsequent success.

You are projecting your envy of rich people, whom you consider superior to yourself, onto others. Some people think our system is flawed because reaching the top requires a callous disregard for others. Even if you don't seriously consider the idea of them being right, you should at least seriously consider the idea that people who say this genuinely believe it.

You are projecting your envy of rich people, whom you consider superior to yourself, onto others.

That would be an interesting point, if it had any validity to it whatsoever. Did you somehow miss the entire point of my post? Envy (or jealousy) of "rich people" is absurd. I earn a healthy salary, and I'm quite comfortable with my station in life.

This man clearly did not have "the talents to serve as an effective executive in the first place" either, since one of the very basic skills required in order to serve effectively in that position is not stealing from your company. His performance in his position was worse than leaving the position empty.

Did you even bother to read the available information on the man's history (perhaps starting with the article)? Had you investigated the matter properly and applied a little critical thinking, I sincerely doubt your reply would have been the same.

He was also stealing from thieves in some sense. Ie, his company was doing something highly illegal, and he was helping the FBI investigate that. Along the way he decided to steal some for himself too. What may make him unqualified as a CEO though is that he wasn't very good at stealing.

Interestingly, this is the same crowd that seems to have no problem celebrating Kevin Mitnick's turnaround and subsequent success.

You seem to be forgetting that Mitnick never actually broke any laws. He also never had any nefarious intentions, unlike this guy. Personally, I think time served is time served and he should be left alone, as long as he returned the money.

don't have the talents to serve as an effective executive in the first place

You're absolutely right: I lack the "talent" to ruin people's careers, casually rip off customers, embezzle, not give a rat's behind about anyone but myself, and deny reality whenever that reality would be bad for me. Yes, there are executives who don't engage in that sort of behavior, but far more that do (especially at larger firms like ADM).

Yes, there are executives who don't engage in that sort of behavior, but far more that do (especially at larger firms like ADM).

Please present hard evidence to back that claim up. While some executives are certainly bad apples, they are most assuredly in the minority. I'm not getting the sense that you have much experience in this matter.

The worldwide financial collapse had a lot to do with a large number of idiots deciding to buy homes they knew they couldn't afford, which is pretty much an extension of the widespread practice of running credit cards up to ridiculous levels. Unemployment sure hurts a lot more if you've got $40K in unsecured debt. That's pretty much the definition of "from the bottom up." Personal responsibility is sorely lacking in society these days.

The worldwide financial collapse had a lot to do with a large number of idiots deciding to buy homes they knew they couldn't afford

Most of the people buying the homes they couldn't afford didn't know they couldn't afford them. In fact, their mortgage broker almost definitely told them they could afford those homes, because the mortgage broker would collect a commission if the buyer could afford the home, and wouldn't if the buyer couldn't. A responsible banker, by contrast, would never have given these folks loans and would have made sure to explain that the home they wanted could not be reasonably purchased with the income and savings

Where, exactly, is the personal responsibility in your version of the events that led up to the housing collapse? Reference my earlier post refuting your view [slashdot.org].

Ignorance is absolutely no excuse. People simply didn't read the papers they were signing, and if they did and didn't understand the terms, weren't responsible enough to get independent advice on the matter. There was a time when no sane person would buy a home or make any other large investment without consulting numerous people for assurances; th

Assume you were born poor. With a single parent who was so busy working she rarely had time to teach you anything. Your education consisted of Sesame Street and similar television before you were 5, and inner-city public school after that. You probably get fair-to-middling grades in school, somewhere in the B-C range, and graduate from a voc tech high school specializing in cooking (putting you ahead of a significant percentage of your peers).

If these are "idiots" then it's completely plausible that they did not know they couldn't afford the homes. Getting a mortgage is a complex thing, and many people just want to know "how much to I pay every month?" If they get a monthly figure that seems affordable, then they think the entire thing is affordable, blissfully unaware of time bombs. Doesn't help if the mortgage seller is acting like a used car salesperson and hand-waving away any "but what if..." questions.Actually I think most of these peop

if only the financial world's fantasy that the housing market can only go up had been true

This much is true, but the underlying factors have a lot more to do with people being idiots in a "gotta have it all" sense, as opposed to possessing the basic intelligence required to understand the risk. In other words, these people might have been idiots, but they weren't stupid. Folks used to be raised with a completely different attitude toward money. I'm only 28, but my parents and grandparents taught me differently.

Anyone who believes any market can "only go up" has it coming, so to speak. At the

I think you're confused. Capitalism isn't about "playing nice" with anybody. If that hurts your feelings, try to keep the fact that human beings are a part of the competitive biological landscape. We simply compete in more complex ways and on a much larger scale when compared to other species.

Once again, there are certainly many notable cases of corruption at high levels of business and government (in recent times and throughout history). That said, it is not the norm for the vast majority of companies o

To prevent misunderstandings: Neither I, nor any of my friends or family, have ever been convicted of anything. For that matter, i have never even been fined or ticketed, so none of this is out of self-interest.

Once someone has paid their debt to society as ordered by a judge/magistrate, they should be free to go about their lives. I do believe that criminal records should be publicly available, for potential employers and so on to inspect, but at the end of the day, the decision to employ someone is a gamb

I don't seem to recall the person that you're responding to actually snubbing their nose at you. If you're upset that you're not getting anywhere within your own job markets, maybe you should take a deep look at yourself! If you want to be an executive, get the necessary skill set, work for it, and then market yourself. The person that TFA is talking about has repaid their debt to society. If you did something wrong and repaid your debt to society, wouldn't you want someone to give you a second chance?

I don't seem to recall the person that you're responding to actually snubbing their nose at you

The person is being a Troll and he got modded +5 Informative. I got modded -1 Troll. The vast majority of the comments here (towards me at least) have been about how people lie, cheat and steal are well socialized, and how it's my fault that I am not able to fit in. If you call my observations "jealous" then either I am totally devoid of reality and completely out of my mind, or the vast majority of people have little sense of morality, and are completely devoid of logic.

I don't see anything trollish about their comments. I don't see anything trollish about yours either. The shysters of the world tend to be well socialized, it's how they work. No one is saying you have to be conman to fit in, but knowing how to socialize helps you to fit in. I know upstanding people who are well socialized, who can talk the talk, yet aren't full of shit and are generally nice people.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't get it to sound right. Maybe we should get West Point and Annapolis to start recruiting from Sing Sing, and see how it works. Maybe in the future, maybe the military can hold courts martial, and sentence the convicted to serving as officers.

He served eight years in prison and, after finishing his sentence, found gainful employment with an open-minded employer with the skillset he possesses. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Interesting how people (almost) always label me as socially dysfunctional because I don't lie (or cheat and steal). Interesting also how people don't think that there is anything wrong with a person who abuses his position of authority and profits from that abuse and is later rewarded with a job, and people like you claim there is nothing wrong. I've been turned down jobs because I didn't have any good references. Employers don't like me because I tend to want to follow the rules (in a chemical plant I work

You're really building yourself up to be this honorable but persecuted person, but you're really not. You've created an excessive moral code that is outside social norms just like someone who could never tell the truth. The inability to function well in society is just as morally wrong as telling small lies. While I thank you for not dumping chemicals down the drain, there is certainly a better way to respond than "No, I won't do it." Perhaps, "This is not SOP. We're going to do it the right way." And then

So far most of the replies to my comments are people making things up about me like this;

You're really building yourself up to be this honorable but persecuted person, but you're really not.

I never claimed to be honourable, not here nor in the workforce. I figured here (on Slashdot) some people may appreciate my comments (in the workforce I've learned to keep quiet except to say "I agree", and "yes boss" and "how high"). I have never claimed to be persecuted either. In terms of honourable and persecuted, I remember one time in grade six many people in the class room were harassing somebody, and the teacher

@unlametheweak
Your ethos has likely brought you inner calm when others have sought narrower selfish goals of praise with little depth or true worth,They have reaped the empty wind. After all, wealth is transitory and fleeting in a lifetime one may be poor then rich then poor again. The items purchased with it worn and discarded before inner calm returns and the internal compass is only steadied after worthwhile truths are learned. Those things gained by "shortcuts" the sacrifice of love, family, communi

Because they're right. Lying is a requirement for being socially functional. As an example, it's a common situation for most people who are insecure about some thing (say, the way they look) to ask someone they know for their opinion... if you tell them the truth, you are by definition being socially dysfunctional.

It's been said that I also have poor communication skills. In actuality I don't remember anybody asking me for an opinion, much less on how they look. If I were asked I would tell them the truth. If the truth were to be negative I would be as tactful as possible. With me telling somebody they were ugly and explaining to them how they can make themselves appear better looking, or explaining how people who judge people by looks are stupid and shallow is far better than telling an ugly person that they are bea

1st point I agree with (there are quantitative and qualitative differences for ordinary people).

2nd point doesn't seem relevant here. Social conventions, no matter how they appear, are not necessarily immoral, dishonest or even irrational. In my case I am more likely to want to say "hello" to someone, just out of politeness. Many people often bow there heads when they see me coming (although there's a lot of variability in people).

3rd point;

You very closely resemble a number of people I've met over the years, who all were unable to grasp what I like to call the "unwritten rules of society".

Yes, many people have told me that I have a "bad attitude", primarily supervisors. I am unable to understand how I can have a "good attitude" like yourself. In fact, many human resources people and job recruiters just assume I have a bad attitude because I can't seem to find and keep a job.

And then you leave off with

Fuck you.

Like everything else you've said, it makes no sense (except for the part where you claim to have had a successful career in the corporate world; that I can believe). Unlike you I won't tell you

He spent NINE freakin YEARS in a prison! Ask yourself this one question: How many years of your life equal $9 million? When would you consider it being forgiven?

To me personally, one single year of my life is worth more than those 9 million.

Additionally, physical reality has no concept called "guilt". It's just cause and effect. So what causes made this happen? And what causes made that happen? And so on, until the beginning of all time. Should we therefore punish the big bang, because we did not look furth

I've lived around bipolar people my entire life. I myself suffer from moderate OCD / ADHD, so when I run into a relative or friend who is in the manic phase, it's sort of like oil and water. I'm over-cautious, and they're just three sheets to the wind, mentally speaking. I remember finally learning about bipolar when I was 21, and wondering why nobody told me to brace myself when I was around these people. But the average person, I think, didn't know much about it until very recently.

I remember the one who broke into his high school to change his grades (almost as some sort of graduation present for a new detective on the force), the 60-year-old neocon woman who bought a very expensive car on a secretary's salary, then ditched it in a parking lot and rode cross-country with a friend to start a rock band, and the one who stopped taking his meds and switched to a "natural" cure that had him taking 40 vitamin pills every day, just to get "trace minerals" that ended up doing nothing for him but keeping him in bed all day, depressed. Or the one who submitted some INCREDIBLY Jackass-like videos to America's Funniest Videos back before Jackass was on TV. Those poor screeners must have been mortified, lol.

On the other hand, I've had some amazing moments with bipolar people. Just being there for them when they are bummed out, when they're sleeping on the couch all day with their boss calling every half hour, or their mom calling, freaking out that they're going to commit suicide like their dad did.

I am in awe of people who work in the mental health industry. I'm an illustrator/designer by trade, and among those who have used the services of mental health professionals are artists like Norman Rockwell, Georges Remi, Otto Preminger, etc. These are people who needed clarity and direction, among other things, just to get out of bed in the morning or start the next project.

Great comment, and you mention "I am in awe of people who work in the mental health industry". From seeing the movie and reading the article, I'm also in awe of his wife. From the article:

"I learned my family was the most important thing in my life. My wife moved to every state I was located and came every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for eight and a half years. Basically, Monday through Thursday I'd be waiting for Friday night, and she'd come all day Saturday and all day Sunday. And I don't mean for an h

Thanks to a Ph.D. he earned from Cornell in nutritional biochemistry, and an understanding CEO who was involved in prison ministry, Whitacre is now COO of Cypress Systems, where he's been working since spending nine years in prison for embezzlement.

Another example of how references and credit checks are worthless for proving reliability. Executive class criminals are in high demand by corporations because of their untrustworthiness. The game of life is won by winners like Richard Hatch [wikipedia.org]. Winners are very rarely nice people, although they have so much money that they smile a lot, so it at least appears as if they are friendly. Winners are very positive in their demeanor.

Guys guys (reffering to sibling comments)! You misunderstood this. He knows very well that two of those are the one side of the spoiler-able extreme, and the other two are the other extreme. That was kinda his point.

Not for nothing, but movies take a long time to make. I'm sure the buzz for this movie was around in 2000, hell I'm sure the script was around then. Iyour goal was to suggest that Mr glass had some sort of edge on anyone you are surely mistaken, after all these things don't happen in a vacuum.

Obviously not, I just said I don't normally THINK of them as being greedy unethical liars. Not anything about scientists and moral ground. Now that you mention it though, I would still trust my tax money more with a researcher at a university than an executive of a major international company.

I think I've been saying what you're saying since the beginning, aside from...

Therefore while there is no guarantee that the researcher would manage the tax money better than the executive, it is more likely the research will spend it on something that only benefits his/herself.

It sounded like you meant to put executive there, or else you made quite the leap in logic.

However, my way of wording it is "The guy was suffering from bipolar disorder, causing him to latch onto any and all means of proving self worth at the expense of everything else. He was found out, put in prison, rehabilitated, and is now more in control of his neurological condition. He has found gainful employment by an employer who understands the issues fuelling his past behaviour, and has decided that the man's skillset is worth more than the risk (or the safeguards against) a repeat

When I read the book a few years ago, the most striking thing was that the names Archer Daniels Midland and Dwayne Andreas didn't appear on the cover or liner notes, and I actually had to look pretty deep in the book to figure out what company he worked for.

Now that ADM pleaded guilty and paid a $100 million fine, their lawyers have less to work with, but at the time the publisher was apparently pretty scared of them. The book is also exceedingly careful about alleging that the Andreases knew how their com

A lot of people wonder about the strange events in the life of Mark Whitacre. As I was reading through the Fortune article, I immediately noticed the fingerprints of the life of a Christian. So I looked it up and it seems that Christianity played a huge role in the story of Mark Whitacre. Obviously, you can't put that in modern films, but he covers it in other sources and talks freely about it in numerous interviews. You can Google and find plenty of references. I thought I'd mention it, not just because I'm a Christian, but because it answers a lot of questions: his claim that his wife was his "moral compass", why she didn't leave him, and his contrite apology at the end of the interview. I suspect it also has much to do with the CEO who was involved in "prison ministry" that later hired him up at Cypress.

A lot of people wonder about the strange events in the life of Mark Whitacre. As I was reading through the Fortune article, I immediately noticed the fingerprints of the life of a Christian.

Okay, so this risks starting a flamewar, but what the heck...

Regarding the characteristics you noticed that made you think, "this guy's a Christian". Do some persons from other religions show such transformations as well?

And if not, then how narrowly must one slice the definition of "Christian" in order to get the cluster of people having what you referred to as "fingerprints"? I.e., Protestants vs. non-Protestants? Are Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses in or out?

It's terminology, and behavior which make up the "fingerprint." It's not so much that only Christianity can cause a significant change, but that when it is Christianity there are identifiable signs.

I don't know if all religions do this. I do know that Mormons likewise have their own unique phrases and behaviors which come about after they change, which are distinctly different than Chrisitans. Alcoholics Anonymous, though not a religious institution per se, also has a signature.

Sure you can. They might not all be big Hollywood blockbusters, but to say that religion is necessarily disqualified from film is incorrect. For instance, Stanley Kubrick, hardly a Christian-oriented filmmaker, made Christianity a key part of the film A Clockwork Orange. And films about biblical events are regularly quite popular and successful, whether we're talking about The Passion of the Christ or Prince of Egypt.

I'm not exactly sure though that Mark Whitacre's Christianity would be one I'd take for ins

Nice dodge. Tell everyone your religion makes people better, then when one of your "better" people turns out to be a scumbag you just say "Oh, you see, he wasn't a REAL Christian." That way you never have to accept the fact that your religion isn't any better at producing good people than atheism or any other religion.

Actually, if you watch the movie you'll find him make random comments about animals that shows an incredible lack of a basic understanding of natural selection. Im not sure where they came from (made up by the filmmaker, his own writings, his conversations, etc) but its interesting to see that Mr. Moral Middle American Christian is a really just a mentally-ill thief with no understanding of evolution.

Kind of off-topic, but one late night I was up watching boring TV and saw some awful hour-long show soleley trying to argue that the founding fathers of the US were Christian. I couldn't turn it off because it seemed so bizzare to me that someone would talk for an hour over something so pointless. I get the same vibe from your post. Why does it matter if someone is a Christian or not? I don't understand the logic of even bringing something up like this, since I see zero causation between his religion an

It matters to me. Someone who is clearly Christian automatically loses much credibility with me. If he's willing to believe there's some invisible guy listening when he mumbles to himself, what other absurdities is he going to be ready to believe?